Even today in this secular Western world the most common good luck charm is the cross or crucifix. Not only many in mainstream Christianity wear them but some professional athletes, actors, actresses, and even idolized music stars such as Madonna have been seen wearing the cross as either a necklace or bracelet or maybe even tattooed on their bodies. If Jesus Christ was executed today by what method would it be. These questions served to expose the foolishness of human reasoning regarding how it thinks it should worship the Lord and Savior. The original Greek word used was stauroo and according to the New Bible Dictionary stauroo means primarily an upright stake or beam or secondly a stake used as an instrument for punishment and execution. The study of word origins shows that stauroo is a stake or pole as well. There is no way of changing that meaning to anything else but that. Many references admit that no one knows exactly what the stauroo or stake or cross that Jesus Christ was crucified on actually looked like. It was most likely just a stake. The cross was used centuries before Christ. For example in the British museum there is a statue of the Assyrian king Samsi-Vul who was the son of Shalmaneser and around his neck is an almost perfect Maltese cross. The ancient Greek goddess Diana is pictured with a cross over her head in much the same way the virgin Mary is represented by many medieval artists. Bacchus the Greek god of wine is often pictured wearing a headdress adorned with crosses. The Egyptians used cross symbols in abundance as did the Hindus. Different types of crosses were used in Mexico centuries before the Spaniards ever arrived which means their origins were most likely prior to the time of Christ. The cross has always been a major symbol of pagan religions. Crucifixion of live criminals did not occur in the Old Testament. History shows that the Phoenicians and Carthaginians practiced crucifixion and later of course the Romans used it extensively. Christian use of the cross did not begin until the time of Constantine three centuries after Christ. Archaeologists have not found any Christian use of the symbol before that time. A person who uses a cross may not hear His voice. Unrighteous human beings suppress the truth. This thought process is called syncretism which is the combination of different forms of belief or practice. Crosses have been added to Christianity without Christ's approval. Demonic forces are no doubt ecstatic that their symbol of the pagan god Tammuz has been stamped on to syncretized mainstream Christianity. The apostles did not trust in the old rugged cross as a virtuous symbol but as the accursed tree a device of death and shame. Instead their faith is in what was accomplished on the cross and through this faith they grew to know the forgiveness of sin thanks to Christ's sacrifice. Paul wrote that the message of the cross not the cross itself is the power of God. Three times in the book of Acts they refer to it as merely and vaguely a tree. There is absolutely no evidence that God's true church ever used the cross symbol for any purpose whatsoever. Nowhere does the Bible command its use. The important thing is Christ's sacrifice for us and what He is doing now not the exact shape of the wood on which Christ died. The mere fact that the traditional cross figures so prominently in pagan religious customs should give us pause for thought.